Two masks – one laughing and one crying — are the universal and ages-old representations of theatre. The use of masks in ritual performances is a time-honoured tradition, expertly used by the ancient Greeks. Yet when I sat down to watch the Segal Centre's production of "I, Claudia" this past week, I had my initial doubts that a one-woman play about four different characters (portrayed through the use of four different masks and costumes) would succeed in making me believe in the four different worlds and viewpoints showcased. I was wrong.
"I, Claudia" is a compelling and emotional tour-de-force. Montreal-born Michelle Polak delivers a powerful --and most importantly, believable-- performance as Claudia, a 12 and 3⁄4 years old pre-teen reeling from her parent's divorce and her father's impending new marriage and move to a new city.
If that weren't enough, the delightful and precocious, yet intensely lonely, Claudia has to contend with the typical teenage angst, which most of us remember only too well.
The play works for a number of reasons. The writing by Kristen Thompson is superb, the acting by Michelle Polak is compelling and true, but key elements, such as the set design, the costumes, the props and Leah Cherniak's flawless direction allow for the four characters to emerge seamlessly and effortlessly on the stage. The acting is of such superb quality that never for a minute do you, as the audience, find the transition from pre-teen Claudia to Bolgonian-born janitor Drachman, to Claudia's elderly grandfather to Claudia's nemesis and soon-to-be new step mom, Leslie, awkward or fake.
Much of course is owed to Polak's ability to quickly change her mannerisms, her speech patterns and the pitch of her voice to match the people she's portraying. You
know that it's the same actor playing all these four characters behind the emotionless masks, yet you are unable to resist the pull and you become immersed in each person's pathos and truth.
At times
hy-larious and at times heart-wrenchingly sad, the play manages to truthfully transmit both the vulnerability and resiliency, the desperation and the lighthearted innocence of young adolescence.
Drachman, as the mild-mannered and worldly former European theatre director now turned school janitor reminds us of the human ability to survive, transcend and reinvent.
"The man who is always the same is a stranger to himself," he says at some point, perhaps as a reminder to us all that change is constant, life-affirming and full of hope. Even when it brings us to our knees.
"I, Claudia" by Kirsten Thomson, directed by Leah Cherniak and starring Michelle Polak, runs at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts at the Saidye (5170 Cote St Catherine Rd) until April 13. For tickets and additional information, call 514-739-9340 or log on to: www.segalcentre.org
Weather: Montreal, May 12th 2008 / 10°C
/ Fair
/ Wind: 15 Km/h / Humidity: 58 % 
by Toula Foscolos .jpg)
Steven Guilbeault - 
